Related Searches
on Ask.com
eke - 11 dictionary results
eke
1 [eek]
–verb (used with object), eked, ek⋅ing.
—Verb phrase| 1. | to increase; enlarge; lengthen. |
| 2. | eke out,
|
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME eken, OE ēac(i)an (intrans.), deriv. of ēaca (n.) increase; ME echen, OE ēcan, var. of īecan (transit.) < WGmc *aukjan; both akin to ON auka, Goth aukan, L augēre, Gk auxánein to increase, amplify
bef. 1000; ME eken, OE ēac(i)an (intrans.), deriv. of ēaca (n.) increase; ME echen, OE ēcan, var. of īecan (transit.) < WGmc *aukjan; both akin to ON auka, Goth aukan, L augēre, Gk auxánein to increase, amplify

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To eke
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
| Main Entry: | eke1 |
| Part of Speech: | v |
| Definition: | to gain or supplement with great difficulty |
| Etymology: | Latin augere 'to increase' |
| Usage: | transitive; used with out |
| Main Entry: | eke2 |
| Part of Speech: | v |
| Definition: | to increase or make last by being economical |
| Etymology: | Latin augere 'to increase' |
| Usage: | transitive; used with out |
| Main Entry: | eke |
| Part of Speech: | adv |
| Definition: | also |
| Etymology: | Old English eac |
| Usage: | archaic |
Language Translation for : eke
Spanish:
hacer alcanzar, racionarhacer alcanzar, racionar,
German:
ergänzen,
Japanese:
補う
Eke
Eke\ ([=e]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eked; p. pr. & vb. n. Eking.] [AS. [=e]kan, [=y]kan; akin to OFries, [=a]ka, OS. ?kian, OHG. ouhh[=o]n to add, Icel. auka to increase, Sw. ["o]ka, Dan. ["o]ge, Goth. aukan, L. augere, Skr. ?jas strength, ugra mighty, and probably to English wax, v. i. Cf. Augment, Nickname.] To increase; to add to; to augment; -- now commonly used with out, the notion conveyed being to add to, or piece out by a laborious, inferior, or scanty addition; as, to eke out a scanty supply of one kind with some other. "To eke my pain." --Spenser. He eked out by his wits an income of barely fifty pounds. --Macaulay.Eke
Eke\, adv. [AS. e['a]c; akin to OFries. ['a]k, OS. ?k, D. ?ok, OHG. ouh, G. auch, Icel. auk, Sw. och and, Dan. og, Goth. auk for, but. Prob. from the preceding verb.] In addition; also; likewise. [Obs. or Archaic] 'T will be prodigious hard to prove That this is eke the throne of love. --Prior. A trainband captain eke was he Of famous London town. --Cowper. Note: Eke serves less to unite than to render prominent a subjoined more important sentence or notion. --M["a]tzner.Eke
Eke\, n. An addition. [R.] Clumsy ekes that may well be spared. --Geddes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
eke
c.1200, north England and E. Midlands var. of echen from O.E. ecan, eacan, eacian "addition, reinforcement," probably from eaca "an increase," from P.Gmc. *aukan (cf. O.N. auka, O.Fris. aka, Goth. aukan), from PIE *aug- "to increase" (see augment). Now mainly in phrase to eke out (1596). It means "to make something go further or last longer;" you can eke out your income by taking a second job, but you can't eke out your miserable existence. Obsolete eke "also" (O.E. eac, Ger. auch) is probably related.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.

